APPROVAL!!!!

Ok if you are basing your decision off of things found in your "insurance policy" and what a doctor tells you ... you obviously missed my point.   Wishing you the best of luck!

I get your point and I'm basing my decision on facts and research.  Truly I'm stressing about the choice.  Pros and Cons on everything.  

My male friend had VSG in May 2010 and we were just speaking on plastic surgery.  I'm going to point him in your direction.  He lives in Blue Bell PA and this might be just what he needs.

Not a rumor...I've also read it in my insurance policy. "In addition, there have been several case reports of liver failure resulting in death or liver transplant."  (BCBSNJ Medical Policy 022).  

 Congratulations on your success with DS!

My male friend had the sleeve in May 2010 and is down 116 lbs.  We were just speaking about plastic surgery and I'm going to point him in your direction.  He lives in Blue Bell PA and this might be just what he needs!

You need to be talking to people who are a LOT further out than that with their procedures. You also need to talk to a different surgeon, such as Dr. Dave Greenbaum in Willingboro, NJ.

Are you SURE your insurance company is not stating things in a somewhat confusing manner?  So as to cost themselves less...not that an insurance company would do any such thing, of course. 

If there really ARE documented cases of liver failure with the modern-day DS...the one that (almost?) all of US here at OH have...then it would be great if we had the sources so we'd know we have a problem.

On the other hand, I'm thinking that is the insurance company applying the bad news from all the procedures that came before the modern-day DS...and it just happens to save them some mone.

anyway...I'm not invested in what surgery YOU have, but if you have GOOD information about a health issue that those of us with the DS might be having, it would be a good thing if you shared that.

The BCBS Policy Bulletin SHOULD HAVE footnoted cites at the bottom of their claim...could you please share those.

Sue there is one study out there. Out of 470 patients there were 10 cases of clinical hepatic impairment after the BPD-DS. They counted the patients that had subclinical (nothing but a couple bad lab values) abnormal liver function tests. They had a couple cases of jaundice but they did have one patient die from liver failure. 
The risk is ridiculously negligible.
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/14980038

Do we know if those people were also impaired PRE-op?  One of the pts I noticed on one early study went into the OR with a BMI in excess of 90...surely, there was SOME liver issue at the git-go...no?

 We don't know squadiddly because this is the only credible study I could find. (I went hunting after Belzberg mentioned it.) My guess is that there is a risk factor going on for sure. But it's an educated guess not a scientific surety.
Although, if you look at the risk to your liver from obesity, and then look at the risk to your liver from the only WLS with a 92% success rate after 10 years... I'm guessing that your liver is a lot happier with the surgery than without it. 
But that's just a guess too. 

Dr. Elariny talked about this at my last pre-op appt with me. He thinks the risk is specific to patients who already have fatty liver disease when they go in for surgery. Since very few people get a liver biopsy, or are otherwise diagnosed before surgery, it's difficult to determine what the impact of the surgery itself is.